


picking up the pieces

by syuuper



Category: Eddsworld - All Media Types
Genre: Legacy Matt, M/M, Multi, Pre-Legacy Matt, The Day Tord Left :tm:, ships tba
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-24
Updated: 2020-11-24
Packaged: 2021-03-10 01:15:41
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,642
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27695440
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/syuuper/pseuds/syuuper
Summary: It must have been so hard for our boys when Matt lost his memories.Let's explore that.
Comments: 5
Kudos: 23





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> first multi chapter fic! encouragement appreciated ♡

"So what do we do now?"

Those are the first words Matt hears, before he knows he's Matt, before he knows the significance of the red car driving away, before he knows the two men standing in front of him on the sidewalk.

The shorter one is who spoke, his voice low but warmly so, like he's inviting you into the joke with him. The taller man has hands stuffed in his hoodie pockets, face twisted up like he's trying not to cry.

Matt realizes his hands hurt- that they've been hurting, and he looks down, broken from whatever spell left him transfixed. Chunks of warped metal and plastic are smoking in his hands. There were once words inscribed on the side of what it used to be, but all he can make out is "m mo ra ser g". The Mmo Raserg is dropped, the clatter drawing the others' attention. 

"Matt?" Ah, there it is. "You alright?" The tall man in the green is speaking now, and Matt stammers under the brown eyes piercing through him suddenly.

"I, er. I'm not quite sure suddenly, mister…?"

The blue one is staring at him now too, and the both of them exchange a glance before he pipes up. "What'cha got there?"

"Oh, was this yours? Terribly sorry, I'll pay you back right away-" Matt fumbles for his wallet, wincing as the motion agitates his wounds, before Green steps closer, taking his hands in his much larger ones. 

"Matt, hey. You really don't seem well, do you have a fever?" Suddenly, one of those hands is on his forehead, Matt dumbstruck by the easy kindness of the stranger. Or is he a stranger? He seemed to know his name, after all. In any case, his hand is warm and the way he chews on the inside of his cheek is much better than the pained look clouding his eyes scant minutes ago, so Matt will take it. "Your temperature is fine…" 

Green and Blue share another curious look, before Blue comes up and takes Matt by the arm, firmly sheparding him away from the street and into a cozy little flat he failed to notice earlier. "C'mon Edd, I'm sure he's just shellshocked. They… were close." 

With Edd- Edd! What a lovely name,- following close behind, Matt doesn't miss his last look behind them before the door shuts and Blue flicks a light on. It's gotten dark without anyone realizing, so the soft light of the lamp is quite welcome as Matt explores the entryway. Pictures line the light green walls, and he finds himself drawn to them, Blue leaving him to trace the frames with his fingertips. 

All taken in the middle of some grand mischief, it seems, with himself, Edd, and Blue featured quite prominently. Some are a bit blurred, others slightly out of focus, but it's clear the friendship is strong between the three, and Matt sighs in relief that he's not just walked into a house with total strangers.

He turns to the end of the hallway, where Edd is pretending he hadn't just been staring a hole into the back of Matt's head, shuffling his feet a little before trying for a grin that falls flat. "You're probably tired, right? Get some shut-eye, and Tom'll help me with dinner-" Tom, as he's been titled, scoffs in clear offense but says nothing to deny his forced volunteering, "And we'll call you down when it's done, alright?" 

Matt tries his own smile, but gives up shortly as it strains his cheeks. "Right then, I'll just…" He slowly takes a step to the left, checking for a reaction. Tom makes a face, so he moves further right, which goes over much smoother. This continues for a couple seconds until he's closed his hand around the correct doorhandle and let himself inside, shutting it behind him with heat flooding his face. That was entirely humiliating, and he never wants to do it again. And now he's realized he hasn't even asked where the kitchen is! Damn it.

Well, on the bright side, this gives him ample time to figure out exactly what the hell is going on. Matt pulls open every drawer, cupboard and dresser in the room, peering into every nook and cranny and making a ridiculous amount of noise while he's at it. Sorry, roommates. He's sure they're very nice, but serious investigating cannot spare a single moment to the concepts of social niceties. 

In the end, he's found a very beat up notebook, a photo album, a drawer full of receipts, a very extensive collection of On Sale stickers stuck to the bottom of his desk, and a minifridge with what appears to be vials of blood in it. Bloody gross.

Matt decides to start with the notebook. If anything can give him some clues as to who he used to be, this would be it.

…

By the time Edd calls him to dinner, Matt has realized three things.

1\. Pre-Mmo Raserg Matt (PMRM for convenience's sake) kept a lot of secrets. All of his notes are thoroughly coded, and even with the key in the back, Matt has to guess a lot more than he wants to.  
2\. PMRM was kind of a cockhead. What he does say about others is diminutive at best, and insulting at worst. Apart from convenience, he thinks very highly of himself, and incredibly lowly of literally anyone he's ever spoken to.  
3\. PMRM kept quite a flame burning for one of his roommates. The only problem is, Matt cannot for the life of him decipher which one is being spoken about. It's all incredibly vague, and when it's not, what's written about this mystery man is conflicting.

Needless to say, Matt is no less befuddled about who he is by the time he finds his way to the kitchen (after only two failed attempts! (he found himself in the bathroom both times…)) and hovers in the doorway. Edd is stirring something that smells very good at the stove, while Tom is making himself busy placing cutlery. 

"Erm-" They both look at him as he speaks, feigning casual immediately afterwards when he flinches. "Is there anything I can do?" 

Tom gestures to the cabinet behind him, settling into his chair. "Uh, yeah, just grab the bowls. Thanks." Bowls! Matt can do bowls. Following the direction Tom alluded to, he quickly finds the correct cabinet on his second attempt, setting the table just as Edd's sitting down.

The contents of the pot appear to be stew, and Matt's mouth waters as he sits- as he reconsiders his seat- as he sits in the correct chair. Tom's staring is very educational, it turns out!

Dinner is fine. Dinner is more than fine. Or, would be, if Matt could figure out what he's doing wrong. It seems he's either saying the wrong thing, or not talking enough, or talking too much, and Edd and Tom look more and more unsure and uncomfortable as the meal drags on.

When they've all eaten as much as they're going to- Tom pushed his bowl away halfway through the meal, and Matt's been picking at his vegetables- Edd seems to have finally made his mind up about something. Crossing his arms on the table, the large man presses his lips together as he studies Matt a moment, before deciding to speak. "You aren't Matt, are you?"

Matt's mouth dries up at the accusation, and he raises his hands defensively. "Well, the thing about that is-" He raises his voice as Tom stands suddenly from his seat, grabbing Matt by the collar and forcing him closer with a stern look in his dark eyes. "I'm not entirely sure myself!!"


	2. the softness in between

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> numero dos! everyone comes to some understanding

There's a beat of silence as the three look at eachother. Slowly, Tom lowers Matt to the ground, but doesn't let go, which means Matt is still awkwardly leaning over the table and trying to shrink back into his hoodie like a turtle. An uncomfortable turtle. 

"What do you mean, you don't know?" Edd speaks up, hands clasped in front of him on the table. 

"It's a funny story-" Tom's brows furrow over his blank eyes, and Matt gets to the point quite swiftly. "Rather, while I'm sure you both are very nice, in your own ways, I seem to have found myself in a bit of a mix up?" He peeks at them from where he'd had his eyes scrunched closed, and Edd motions for him to continue, a strange expression on his face. "A-and, I don't believe, that um." 

"That we've met, formally."

Matt is released, unceremoniously, and he staggers back into his seat, almost afraid to see how Tom and Edd will react. But when he looks, he takes pity on the unveiled horror on both of their faces. While he's glad no violence was forthcoming, somehow this is a little worse. 

Seemingly breaking free of his stupor first, Tom shakes his head to clear it (not unlike an etch-a-sketch) and spares a glance to Edd. "You mean," And he's sitting now, brows furrowed for another reason. "you don't remember us? At all?"

"If I hadn't seen the evidence of our clear camaraderie in the photos…" Matt lowers his gaze, apologetic. Pre Mmo Raserg Matt, at the very least, obviously had a lot of fun living with these two- The vague strange feeling he's been experiencing for a little while now is starting to solidify into guilt. Matt decides this is his least favorite feeling.

Edd pulls himself together, getting up to clear the table. Mindless busy work helps him think, apparently. 

"Well! It seems we'll just have to jog your memory! Shouldn't be that hard, right Tom?" Crisis averted, he gives them both a reassuring smile. "Now one of you grab a dishtowel. I'm not cleaning these all by myself!"

…

Matt was mistaken. Guilt has become second fiddle to Matt's real least favorite feeling: Chores. After dishes, Edd goes on the warpath, finding a million things to dust and tidy and clean. Tom is less enthusiastic, but goes about it with the sort of attitude that says this is not the first or last time Edd has been bitten by the Cleaning Bug. 

By the time they've run out of menial tasks to do, Matt is sore and exhausted, collapsing on the livingroom couch and running a hand through his sweaty hair. This makes it stick up at angles that are apparently hilarious to Tom and Edd, who flop down beside him like they must have done hundreds of times. Remote in hand, Edd flips through channels on the telly, with he and Tom providing a running commentary on the type of late night trash reruns that are a universal constant. 

Before Matt even really thinks about it, he's waking up the next morning to the smell of fresh coffee, and more alarmingly, to the discovery that he'd used Edd as a pillow. The guy is still out cold, so that rules him out as the source of coffee.

Matt sits up like he'd been burned as Tom walks in, two mugs in hand, and flushes at the eyebrow quirked at him as he takes one of the offered drinks. It's still barely light outside from what Matt can see, and as he takes a tiny sip of the coffee he realizes two things at once.

1\. Tom had known he'd be up at this hour.  
2\. He also knows exactly how Matt takes his coffee (or at least, what Matt thinks tastes good, because this is goddamn delicious.)

The guilt comes back in a rush, though now it's undercut by a brilliant warmth. Matt can't stop the smile that grows, and Tom's almost startled reaction makes him laugh quietly.

"Thank you." 

"Uh. Sure." Like he hadn't had a hand in this unbearably tender moment, Tom sits across from him on the armchair, enjoying his own coffee. They're both content to bask in the silence, as the sun rises to flood the livingroom with light and Edd stirs. The big guy yawns like a bear come out of hibernation, blinking awake dopily as something dings in the kitchen, which is Tom's cue to get up. He returns with a third mug, which is deposited in Edd's sleepy paws, and not for the first time Matt is in awe of their synergy.

This is a household that works.

Sure, it may not be this perfect 100% of the time, but Matt can feel the unspoken care in this house. His cheeks are starting to hurt with how much he's smiling.

Drink thoroughly enjoyed, he stands to put his empty mug in the sink, and excuses himself to take a shower. Because, not to be too specific, but he's feeling kinda rank.

It doesn't take long to find the linen closet, and he takes the nicest towel and tries not to listen too closely to Tom and Edd speaking quietly about him. It's easier to pretend he can't hear it as he shuts the bathroom door, locking it and turning to look himself in the mirror for the very first time.

So this is him, huh? Rather tall, freckled, red hair, bluegreen eyes… Not bad! He can't help but feel like something's off, though. Maybe something in the way he's standing? Matt tries a few poses, then shakes his head. Then… his expression? He tries for a wider smile, then grimaces- Huh. 

That was.. close. Matt lowers his shoulders, tilts his head, and looks down his nose at his reflection, and is struck immediately by the familiarity. 

This is him. This is Matt.

He recalls what he read in the notebook. Looks down at others? Thinks highly of himself?

He can't imagine why. Surely he's just a normal guy? Is there something remarkable about him? Okay, his eyes are pretty nice, and he's got a sharp jawline, and straight teeth (except for some mysteriously sharp canines), and when it isn't sticking up at all angles, he's got soft, shiny hair.

On second thought, he's rather pretty, isn't he? 

…

This curious thought follows him as he showers (he picks whatever products he likes the smell of and hopes he's got it right. the end result is. palatable.), as he brushes his teeth, as he does his hair (hair down is just bad.), and as he picks out an outfit.

The black hoodie he was wearing before is getting a little thin, so he switches it out for a dark grey one, keeping the jacket. He couldn't put it into words, how he immediately knows some things. Like, his heart just says yes to one thing and no to another. It's quite silly, and he makes a little game of it, picking up objects just to see how he feels about them.

Purple stuff sparks joy! Tiny knickknacks spark joy! A small box of shiny nailpolish sparks joy!

Though, as he goes around the room, it's strange how few of these things that make him happy exactly exist. Sure, there's the comfy purple hoodie in the back of the closet that he put on immediately, and the simple make-up on the dresser, but the biggest impression Matt gets from the room is… Drab. Or maybe more… unadorned? The walls are mostly empty, the clothes are serviceable but boring, and it just seems like an unhappy room. Which feels silly now that he's examining it, but.

Why are there so few things that make him happy? Did the.. old him, the Matt that was here before him, are they so different?

The guilt rushes to the forefront, but he does his best to shrug it off, leaving his room to join the others. Tom and Edd seem to have run out of theories as to why he's lost his memory and he smells bacon!


End file.
